What do you look for in a con's vid-show call for vids?

[synecdochic]

I'm on the vid committee for a con this year, and we'll soon be writing our "please submit your vids to the vid show selection committee!" announcement. I volunteered to write that announcement, and since I haven't done this before, I thought it would be a good idea to ask vidders what they want to see in a call for vids.

So: What sort of thing do you look for in a con's call-for-vids announcement? What helps you feel confident that you know what the con is looking for and makes you feel comfortable submitting to it?

Comments

Thanks for asking!

[laurashapiro]

I'd like to know something about the con itself, as I often haven't heard of it. And if it's a themed vidshow, that's useful information too -- helps you pick the best vid for the show.

These days, I want to know if previously released vids are welcome, as I generally won't make a new vid for a con unless I'm going to be there. So if it doesn't need to be a premiere, that's helpful to know.

Beyond that: deadline, format, how to submit, and whom to contact for more info.

Re: Thanks for asking!

[synecdochic]

Thank you; this is very helpful!

When you say 'format' -- do you mean file format/codec, or things like "vids should be 3:4 aspect ratio" or whatever? Either way, is there something that's 'standard' or that most vidders are used to? We want things to be easy for the vidders and also easy for us to pull together the individual vids into an easy-to-play show, so if you have any tips, I'd love to hear them.

(Some of the other people on the committee have more experience running a con's vidshow, but there's been some con staff turnover this year and some of the technical "how to do this thing" information has gotten lost, so I figure it's better to ask than not ask. :) We plan on getting someone with more technical experience to help us put together the actual show itself to play, once we get the playlist finalized and all, but I figured the people here might be able to throw some knowledge my way; I have made vids, but not tremendously good ones, and I've never put together vids for a show, so I know there are loads of stuff I don't know. I swear to God I've seen a "how to run a con vid show" tutorial out there somewhere, but couldn't find it no matter how hard I looked, so if you know the thing I'm thinking of, a pointer would be greatly appreciated.)

Re: Thanks for asking!

[laurashapiro]

I have seen the thing you mean, but I don't know where it is, either.

Re format: I was thinking of file format, but if there are specifics about aspect ratio or destination (DVD vs. video player software), that's good to know, too.

There used to be a con standard that Vividcon, Escapade, and Vidukon all used, with the destination being DVD. But Vividcon switched last year to a different setup (I don't know the specifics as I didn't submit anything last year). I recommend checking their website, and also the above-mentioned cons.

Re: Thanks for asking!

[synecdochic]

Excellent; thank you for the pointers!

(And oh, thank goodness someone else remembers the same guide. I was beginning to think I'd hallucinated it.)

Re: Thanks for asking!

[heresluck]

Ditto to everything Laura said. I also find it helpful to know whether there are particular kinds of vids (or particular fandoms) that the vidshow organizers are looking for or would welcome. If small fandoms are welcome, if comedy or upbeat or multi-source vids are likely to get the most audience enthusiasm, if slash (or het, or gen) is a priority -- these are good things to know!

(And -- this should go without saying, but be honest about what attendees will be into. Years ago, I was encouraged to submit a vid to Escapade's vidshow, and I was assured that the fact that it wasn't a slash vid wouldn't be a problem, because good vids of all kinds were welcome -- which I'm sure was true of the vidshow organizers but was, uh, not as true of the attendees, who were, in fairness, attending a slash con and were well within their rights to want to see slash vids.)

Also, chiming in on the format thing: both! Should the vid be in .mp4 format, should it be 16:9 aspect ratio, what's the maximum (and/or minimum) resolution, are there framerate restrictions or audio requirements? If the show is being run off someone's laptop, it may not make any difference, but it's still helpful to know what the standards are. For an example, see VividCon's instructions on preparing vids for upload: http://vividcon.com/uploading-instructions/ (VVC has specific requirements because there are so many shows and because many of the vids get redistributed on the con DVD, so your requirements may be quite different, but that will give you a sense of the kind of thing vidders might be used to seeing.)

Re: Thanks for asking!

[synecdochic]

That VVC link is very helpful! (I'd looked at VVC but somehow managed to miss that list.) We are not going to be doing a DVD, but seeing a list with that kind of specificity gives me a good sense of what we should put in the tech requirements, yes.

Thank you!

[starlady]

As a vidder I've previously been disappointed in con vidshows that billed nearly-new but previously released vids as "premieres" at the vidshow, which is…wildly inaccurate and devalues the effort that goes into premiering vids. So like Laura said, clear directions about whether premieres and/or nearly new vids are acceptable definitely helps.

[seekingferret]

I'd add to this that it's useful to know what kind of venue the vid is going to be screened in... will they be screened by projector or on a big TV, will lights be darkened, will people be sitting quietly and watching vids or will it be more casual.

wiscon_vidparty's disclaimer is "Our viewing environment is not pristine and theater-like. Our vid party environment is fairly low key and casual (though people definitely focus on the vids!); the party runs entirely on donations and people are able to pop in and out of the room. Although we do our best to provide good quality audio/video within those limitations, we want to be up-front about the fact that it's not perfect, if that is a concern for anyone."

Vs. something like VVC premieres, which is a much more explicitly formal setting. That definitely weighs into vidder's choices about where to submit something.

[brainwane]

I found it helpful that wiscon_vidparty explicitly mentions how they want to deal with content notes/trigger warnings, and errs on the side of inclusion re: genre and artistic approach:

We don’t want definitions to limit you; if you’re interested in WisCon’s themes and consider your vid to engage with these ideas, we’d love to have it at WisCon. We consider vid theme to be as relevant as source genre.

I think the fact that they include links to past examples is also reassuring.

[gwyn]

I seem to remember that SDWolfpup wrote a thing about putting together the Bitchin' Party vidshow one year (mostly about choosing vids, etc.). Could that be what you were thinking of? I don't have time to go back and check, but that might be a place to start.

I've had people specifically ask me for vids for a show, and it's often been frustrating because they didn't know what the person running the show would want. I think that it would probably help everyone if you can make sure that that person who will be running it and putting it together is involved from the beginning--it could save a lot of frustration when the vidder asks about something but the person putting out the call for submissions has no idea about the answer. It's fair to give the basics--deadline date, theme if there is one, any tech specs, how to send files, but there are so many weird variations on things (like, if a show will be put on a dvd vs. run off someone's laptop with VLC) that it will save a lot of back and forth if that person is involved from the get-go.